Weird Defender Joo Ji-Tae

135 – The Trap (2)

135

It was a reasonable response to press the two center backs, the core of Barcelona’s defense, aggressively. Real Madrid had enough attackers to press, using a three-top formation.

So, assigning Fernando Alvarez to mark him and Aitor Caso to mark Madu Murcia was a textbook pressure, but leaving Michal Žuk, the remaining attacker, and deploying midfielder Francisco Hento to mark Madu Murcia was an unconventional tactic.

Moreover, narrowing the distance and deploying the flank defender to the midfield battle, where one midfielder was missing, was also an unconventional tactical response.

It wasn’t that narrowing the distance or deploying the fullback to the midfield battle was strange in itself, but rather that they had to sacrifice one midfielder to lose the numerical advantage in the midfield and then try to make up for it by narrowing the distance and deploying the fullback, which was an illogical judgment.

If they were going to do it, they should have chosen one or the other, but this was too extreme.

As a result, the flank was left open, and even though the center was important, it was hard to understand why they would leave the flank so empty.

At first, Joo Ji-tae thought it was overconfidence.

They thought they could stop Barcelona’s attack even if the flank was empty.

And that was understandable, since Barcelona didn’t have a tall attacker.

Their attack line was short, and even their midfielders were mostly under 180cm tall, whereas Real Madrid’s players had an average height above that, and their center backs were tall.

Naturally, it would be difficult to score with a cross from the flank.

But by giving up the flank, Real Madrid’s players were able to focus on the center, and their faces were full of confidence. Barcelona’s players weren’t pushovers, but it was a relative thing.

So, Real Madrid’s intention of giving up the flank and pressuring the center back extremely was to avoid conceding a goal from a cross and to have confidence in their midfield battle, but… it was only half right.

While Joo Ji-tae was busy with Fernando Alvarez, Madu Murcia had two players marking him, and another key player, Diego Almeida, was being marked by Real Madrid’s Carlos Sanchez.

After disrupting their build-up, they would use the empty flank to launch a counter-attack, which was their primary goal.

And, as expected, when Barcelona focused on their flank attack… that was when the trap was triggered.

The Real Madrid flank attacker, Michal Žuk, who had been participating in the pressure so passively, suddenly dropped back to defend, and at the same time, midfielder Federico Munoz and fullback Andrei joined in.

It was a risky defense that relied on teamwork, but Real Madrid’s players executed it perfectly.

And when they were suddenly surrounded by three players and lost the ball… the counter-attack began.

The two fullbacks would send a long pass to the empty space behind Barcelona’s defense, and it would be all over.

There was no way to stop it.

On Barcelona’s side, there were only three players, including the goalkeeper, Joo Ji-tae, and Madu Murcia, whereas Real Madrid had Fernando Alvarez, Aitor Caso, and midfielder Francisco Hento, who had participated in the pressure.

Excluding the goalkeeper, it was effectively a 2:3 battle.

That’s because there are fewer players defending.

I sensed that I was going to concede, but I couldn’t just give up easily.

Joo Ji-tae abandoned marking Fernando Alvarez and sprinted towards Madu Murcia’s side.

Slow-footed Madu Murcia couldn’t possibly block Aitor Caso and Francisco Gentro, so he was easily pushed aside. As expected, Madu Murcia was quickly overtaken. Joo Ji-tae quickly covered, but the opposing players didn’t dare to take on Joo Ji-tae.

They simply confirmed Joo Ji-tae’s approach and comfortably passed the ball to Fernando Alvarez.

“I expected that.”

But Joo Ji-tae didn’t give up and immediately turned around to sprint towards the original direction.

“What…!”

The ball was faster than the players.

But Joo Ji-tae was faster than the pass.

One fortunate thing was that the pass was delayed a bit due to Joo Ji-tae dodging to the side, giving him a slight advantage.

However, the ball, driven by strong force, drew a large trajectory and Joo Ji-tae chased after it at an even faster speed.

“Ernan!”

But Fernando Alvarez, who wasn’t careless, touched the ball first.

Even Joo Ji-tae needed some time to regain his speed after turning around.

As Fernando Alvarez confirmed Joo Ji-tae’s approach and was about to dodge with his signature smooth turn,

“Ah…?”

Joo Ji-tae’s body, sprinting at full speed, suddenly came to a halt.

The instant pressure on his knee. The familiar sound of his knee cracking. It was the sound of his knee getting injured, just like the first time.

Joo Ji-tae gritted his teeth, but his spine went cold.

It’s just an illusion. It can’t be ruined by just this much.

This is… the ghost of the first season.

Even during the first season, when he continued to push himself with reckless plays, his knee lasted until the 2-3 year mark. It can’t be ruined by just this much. He can do it sometimes…

Joo Ji-tae sprinted at full speed, but suddenly stopped just one step away, and the ball bounced back up after hitting his heel.

“Like this—”

Fernando Alvarez, who belatedly noticed the ball had bounced back, turned around, but Joo Ji-tae had already kicked the ball far away.

“Insane…!”

Fernando Alvarez, stunned, stared at Joo Ji-tae, who was celebrating.

The players could only stand there with their mouths agape.

* * *

Real Madrid’s strategy was simple.

Create a trap, and when Barcelona falls into it, strike the fatal blow at the perfect moment.

This was exactly like the tactics of Simeone’s Atlético Madrid during their prime.

Lure the opponent to the side, pretending to give up, and then suddenly sprint in to steal the ball and launch a counterattack – Simeone’s signature tactic.

And indeed, Real Madrid created a scoring opportunity in the first half that anyone would think was a sure goal.

It was truly a moment just before scoring.

Slow-footed center back Madu Murcia couldn’t respond to the opponent’s long pass, and Joo Ji-tae, who sprinted to cover, confirmed the open space behind him and passed the ball into it.

Originally, if the game had progressed this far, the remaining sequence would have inevitably led to a goal.

With Joo Ji-tae, who sprinted to cover, at the center, Fernando Alvarez, who had the ball, on one side, and Aitor Caso, who pushed past Madu Murcia, on the other.

Even if Barcelona’s goalkeeper, Hector Port, was excellent, he couldn’t have stopped this.

Two people rushed in from both sides, but what could they do against a monster like him?

However, Joo Ji-tae blocked this perfect scoring opportunity with an unbelievable play.

[What is this world?! What is this?! What did I just see?!]

[Holy… what is this player’s body made of?! He changed direction while running, accelerated to full speed, and then stopped on a dime! Am I watching a game?!]

[This is an impossible play! A super, super play! Joo Ji-tae, you made an unbelievable super save at this crucial moment! You’re showing us an incredible save that will go down in history at your first El Clásico!!]

In a world governed by physical laws, he alone defied those laws with his movements.

Of course, there was a price to pay.

[Ah… Joo Ji-tae, who had been roaring with excitement, finally collapsed.]

[He’s clutching his knee. I hope it’s not a serious injury. That was a truly breathtaking play.]

In front of a stunned Fernando Álvarez, Joo Ji-tae, who had been roaring with excitement, fell to the ground.

The medical team rushed in and carried Joo Ji-tae away, prompting the Barcelona coaching staff to dash over.

“What is this world! Joo, are you not badly hurt? How’s your condition? Is it serious? It must be, considering how hard you braked. What do we do? What do we do? Ah, Joo, don’t worry and get to the hospital quickly—”

“I’m fine.”

“What? What did you say? You’re fine?”

“Yes. My knee is a bit sore, but I’m okay. I can still play.”

“What the…?! Are you out of your mind?! El Clásico is important, but it’s not more important than your health! No game is more important than a player’s life! I must have put too much pressure on you, but you need to take it easy. Go to the hospital right now.”

Despite Coach José’s frantic warnings, Joo Ji-tae calmly checked his knee and stood up.

“I’m really fine. I know my knee better than anyone. It was a bit dangerous, but… what’s the big deal? I’ve done this many times before.”

“But… even if you’re used to it, this time was a bit too much, right? I saw your knee twist in a dangerous way!”

Joo Ji-tae acknowledged it inwardly.

It was dangerous, indeed.

But this was what he always did.

He had done this kind of rapid acceleration, rapid braking, and rapid turns in his dribbling many times before. His knee was bound to take a toll. But at least… at least for 1-2 years, it would be fine. Despite this crazy play, his knee had endured this kind of madness for 1-2 years.

This was a fact he had directly confirmed with his own body.

He had directly confirmed it in his past life.

“By the way, Coach. I had a good idea.”

“What?! What idea?! My idea is for you to go to the hospital right now!”

“Maybe we can win easily.”

“…What do you mean?”

Coach José, who had been furious, looked at Joo Ji-tae with a mixture of surprise and anger, and Joo Ji-tae smiled slightly.